A New Beginning
by darkladyofsorrow
Summary: This is a remake of my sucky fanfic, A Tale of Two Sisters. Don't ask. It was bad. Hope this one turns out better. I'm dedicating this one to my idol, silentspiritwind.
1. Foreword

"This is a new beginning. Each of us has a new path to follow..."  
- Sasuke Uchiha

These words are the root of both the title and plot of my revised fanfiction, and a reflection on myself. My former account ran into some technical problems that i couldn't work out so i had to abandon it. This is truly 'A New Beginning'.

'A New Beginning' is a revision of my fanfiction, ' A Tale of Two Sisters', I hope that it is more succesful than it's previous writings. In this one I'm trying to put in more detail, so that you're not just sitting in a room reading a fanfiction. I want you to be a part of this story.

Thanks to everyone who gave me advice, and a special thanks to leafygirl for revolutionizing my way of writing.


	2. Chapter 1: Looking Back

Chapter 1: Looking Back

Anoreen walked slowly through the calm darkness of the forest. The wind was blowing quietly through the trees above her. Normally, she would stop and admire the peaceful rustling of the leaves, but tonight her mind was elsewhere.

Her conversation with Deidara by the lake, earlier that day, played over and over in her mind. They had always been close, and Anoreen considered him to be somewhat the older brother she had lost in the massacre twelve years ago.

* * *

Deidara sat down beside her on the bank. Anoreen didn't look up from her reflection in the water. ' Why bother? It's obvious what he wants.' she told herself. They sat in silence. The lake water lapped at the edge of the bank as if to grab its two observers and drag them down to the bottom of the lake. A bird began chirping in a nearby tree. Then he spoke, "Let it go Anoreen. It's been a full year, and you're still sulking. I'm not telling you to forget about him, I'm just saying it's time to move on and--"

"Easy for you to say!" Anoreen shouted, "You two were always arguing!"

Deidara closed his eye. Knowing her, she wasn't done yet. So he waited for her to continue. "It's easy for you to just forget about him and move on, he's not your father! You don't know anything about my past! You have no right to tell me to move on! I'd like to see you 'move on' after someone raised you as if you were their own child, and saved you from starving to death out on the streets. I'd like to see you just 'let it go' after you've watched them die right in front of you by the hand of your little sister that you haven't seen since you were six! I can't just forget something like that Deidara!"

Minutes passed, and she seemed to be done. The bird had stopped chirping, and a slight breeze began to blow. Deidara opened his eye and turned to Anoreen. "I'm not asking you to forget, Anoreen, I'm asking you to forgive yourself. There was nothing you could do. You've got to stop beating yourself up."

"Shut up! You don't understand." she said, getting her emotions under control.

He stood up and turned to leave. "Then help me to." he said, defeated.

Anoreen turned to look at him, and they locked eyes for a moment, her sad, lonely eyes looking into his tired, weary one. Then he was gone, leaving Anoreen alone with her thoughts.

* * *

Anoreen's steps slowed. "Maybe he's right." she said to herself, "Maybe I should move on. It's not like I want to spend the rest of my life sulking around in this forest."


	3. Chapter 2: Dream

Chapter 2: Dream

Everywhere Sakura looked she saw the dead bodies of the fallen Haruno clan. "No!" she cried, "They're all dead! Who would do this?!"

Sakura stood in the street, taking in the gruesome scene before her, too horrified to even move. Then she remembered her parents, and bolted towards home. "Please don't be dead!" Sakura breathed as she ran on desperately.

She made it to the door, but stopped short. The paper lamps on either side of the doorway had been slashed in two, and shuriken littered the ground. The door itself hung loosely on one hinge, and was slightly ajar.

Fear engulfed the young kunoichi, and she dreaded what she knew she would find on the other side. She couldn't breathe. Her lungs burned under the pressure, and her head reeled. 'Move! Come on Sakura, move!' her mind screamed over the rapid beating of her heart.

Sakura swallowed hard, and gently pushed the door open. She gasped. Her father was lying at her feet, his dead eyes fixed permanently on the floor below him. Sakura's breath sped up. She ran to the kitchen, and fell to her knees at the doorway. "No!" she sobbed, "Mother and Father... This can't be happening! Not again!"

Sakura was sure she'd wake up the whole village with her cries, but she didn't care. She knew she couldn't stop her tears, so she let them fall. It was as if all the clouds had given her their rain to cry, and so, they fell like a great storm from her eyes.

"Aww! Poor wittle Sakura." a sinister voice mocked her from behind, "All awone and wonewy!" the voice began laughing.

Sakura stopped crying, and pure hatred washed over her face. "You!" she growled, "So you're the one who did this! I don't know who you are," she said as she stood up, "but I swear, I'll kill you!"

Sakura wheeled around to face her enemy, with fists blazing with chakra, and the furious expression painted on her face, she was more than convincing.

The brown-haired rouge took in the fiery kunoichi in front of him, but what really drew his attention were her eyes. They had just gone from a bright, jade green, to jet black with three, strange, red comma-like markings, that if connected, would form a perfect circle where the pupil had previously been.

'What is this power I'm sensing?!' his mind raced, but it was too late.

The next moment, there was an unrecognizable, dead rouge ninja lying at Sakura's feet. She looked down shakily at her bloody hands. "How did I..." she breathed, "What was that power?"

--

Sakura opened her eyes. She had been dreaming about the night her adopted parents had been killed again. "This is getting annoying." she said, as she yawned, "I've got to find my sister soon, or this dumb re-occurring dream is goanna drive me mad."

Sakura crawled out of the tree she had slept in, and began cooking breakfast. As she worked, her mind wandered off to the morning she had left Konoha to seek her sister, now her only living relative, for help with her new-found power. She felt guilty, remembering how she had turned the rouge's body into a copy of her own, in order to leave without opposition. Now she was certain everyone in Konoha knew her to be dead. 'I just hope they don't make a monument to me or anything.' Sakura thought guiltily.

Soon, her breakfast was ready. She ate in silence as she sat leaning against the old tree, and listening to the peaceful noises of early morning. Sakura gazed around at the lush forest around her, knowing that soon, she would have to exchange the beautiful scene for the dry, desert sand if she were ever to find her sister.

Sakura finished eating, and cleaned up the site, leaving no evidence of her meal. Then, she proceeded to pack up the rest of her gear. As she turned to leave, she looked back one last time, "Goodbye." she said

It seemed fitting to say goodbye. After all, she really was saying goodbye to so many things, including her old self. She knew she would return someday, but things would never be the same as they once were. That much was certain.


	4. Chapter 3: Sand

Chapter 3: Sand

Anoreen found herself back in the familiar desert in which she had spent the last half of her childhood. She still wasn't sure why she had returned to this place, it just seemed the thing to do. The wind picked up and Anoreen headed north towards a small village on the horizon. 'I'll just stop for the night.' she thought to herself, 'Just one night won't hurt. Besides, I need to rest.'

* * *

Sakura struggled against the wind. "Curse all this sand." she said under her breath. She took a chance and peered over the arm she had been using as a shield against the bombarding sand. She was in luck. Just ahead, the soft lights of a small village glowed warmly against the afternoon sky. 'Thank goodness!' she said inwardly, 'I can stay there tonight and wait out this sandstorm.'

Sakura arrived at the village a short time later. It was smaller than she had originally thought, and only had one restaurant. She crossed the street and entered the dimly lit tavern. Sakura looked around uneasily. There were too many shady characters for her liking, but she figured she didn't exactly qualify as trustworthy anymore either. Sakura crossed the room and sat down at a small booth in the corner. A waitress came by and took her order, then hurried off to the kitchen. She caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of her eye and realized that the hooded figure in the corner across from her had been watching.

The waitress walked past, and Sakura motioned to her. She leaned closer to the young black-haired girl and spoke in her ear. "Who is that? In the corner with the gray hood." she whispered.

The dark headed waitress glanced in the direction Sakura had indicated. Then turned back to speak with her young customer, "She's a rouge kunoichi from Sunagakure. According to people around here, she left the village with her father years ago. She's not seen much, and I don't recommend provoking her. She's about as dangerous as you get." the waitress stood up, "They don't call her the Death Mirage for nothing." she said ominously, and walked away.

* * *

"What luck!" the smaller of the two figures sitting at the bar remarked, "To find both of them here. Don't you think?"

"Mmhm." the other replied, "And with the eclipse coming so soon, we will have them."

* * *

Anoreen was worried. She had been watching a young pink-headed girl, but when the familiar red clouds on black coats appeared in her peripheral vision, she turned her attention towards the bar. Her brows creased. Those weren't normal Akatsuki cloaks. They were superiors. "It might even be Pein and Konan…Not good." Anoreen mumbled as she stood up and made her way across the dimly lit tavern towards the opposite corner.

* * *

Sakura's heart sped up. The so-called 'Death Mirage' had gotten up and was walking towards her table. 'What did she want?!' she began to shake a little, and her imagination ran wild. A silent war was going on in her head. Should she run, or would it be wiser to stay put?

Sakura froze. She couldn't have run if she wanted to. The ominous figure of a young woman stood at her table. "May I sit?" her smooth and surprisingly gentle voice trickled out from under the gray hood that completely hid her face.

Sakura nodded, and her guest slid into the booth seat across from her. They stared at each other, and Sakura couldn't help shivering a little. She had never been so close to such a powerful person before. Not even Lady Tsunade's power could match the strength she was sensing from this deadly character. Fear was taking over, and the unknown was driving her mad. Sakura couldn't take much more of it. Her head was reeling. Her mind was screaming. Then a voice cut through her inner turmoil, "I'm not here to hurt you Sakura." it said with the same calmness as before, but this time there was a slight threat under her smooth voice, letting Sakura know she wasn't completely harmless, "I came to warn you. Those two at the bar have been watching you ever since you came in."

Sakura pulled herself together and glanced toward the bar. Her eyes widened; red and black cloaks adorned the bar's only two inhabitants. She returned her gaze to the figure in front of her." How did you know my name, and who are those Akatsuki members over there? For that matter, who are you?!"

The young woman sighed, and reached up to remover her hood. The thick cloth fell to her back, revealing blonde hair and jade green eyes. She looked to be around the age of 18 and very beautiful, but it was her eyes that startled Sakura. They were the same exact shade of green as her own. "Even the most ruthless and cold-blooded shinobi know the names of their younger siblings, Sakura. Why should I be any different?"

Sakura stared at her in amazement. She was too astonished to utter even a single word. The blonde continued, "Those two are no ordinary Akatsuki members. It is very likely that they are the organization's two leaders, Pein and Konan. We are their targets. They wish for us to replace two of their fallen members. We're safe for now. They won't attack until the time is right, but when the eclipse comes, there will be nothing we can do against them. From now on, I will be accompanying you wherever you go."

Sakura put her concern for the fact that she would be drafted into the Akatsuki on the back burner of her mind and pressed on, "but who are you?" she repeated.

"I am known by many names." she answered, "Most call me the Death Mirage. Some call me a spirit. But only the dead, and very few of the living, know me by my real name." she paused for a moment, and leaned in close to Sakura, "I am Anoreen Shemutah… of the Red Sand."


	5. Chapter 4: Training

Chapter 4: Training

"Come on Sakura you've got to mean it! Try again." Anoreen said

For the last two weeks Anoreen and Sakura had been training hard. Sakura's control over the ganshi had grown tremendously, but Anoreen still wasn't satisfied. "Good! Now do it again, and try to expand it more."

Sakura sighed heavily with fatigue, and began concentrating her chackra again. She was getting tired of her sister's nagging. 'Alright! She coached herself mentally, 'This is the last time I'm going to do this today! I just have to give it my all!'

Anoreen watched as her younger sister began channeling chackra into her palms. She could tell Sakura would master it this time, and she braced herself for the impact.

Moments later, the surrounding sand had been completely transformed into a solid sheet of glass from the humidity of the flames. Sakura smiled. She knew she had done it this time. Anoreen couldn't possibly tell her to repeat it now.

The blonde shook off the glass that had been blown her way, and approached Sakura. Her face was blank as usual, and it was impossible to get anything from her voice either. "Sakura," she said. Sakura flinched. She had hoped to hear at least a tiny hint of approval in her sister's voice, but none was present. "Sakura," Anoreen repeated. Then a smile slid over her face, "That was excellent!"

* * *

"Ah. You're here. Good." said the dark figure slouched in the chair behind his desk, "Have a seat." he commanded. The two figures, who had just arrived, immediately sat down in the chairs facing the leader.

"What use do you have of us?" questioned the shorter, but none less deadly of the two.

"Watch your tone when you speak to Pein, Uchiha you emotionless lump!" a woman's voice cut through the darkness.

"I suggest you take that back now. Or I'll slice you and your cute little papers in half, Konan." the larger of the two who had been summoned growled, as he tightened his grip on the hilt of the great sword he always towed around.

"Oh I'm scared now!" she taunted him, "Now old fish face is going to sit there and growl at me! The horror!"

"Silence Konan. That kind of talk is beneath you." Pein commanded, "I brought you two here to discuss our plan of attack. The eclipse begins tonight, and we need to do this quickly and as quietly as possible."

"It shouldn't be that hard to do." the shark man commented, "They're just a couple of kunoichi after all. We just swoop in, knock them out, and go."

"You underestimate them Kisame. These two are the sole survivors of the Shemutah clan. Even with the eclipse, they are not to be taken lightly. Also, the eclipse only lasts for three days. Anything we do to anger them during that time, we'll have to pay for when it ends." the elder Uchiha corrected

"Meaning..." Kisame's voice trailed off, waiting for an answer

"Meaning if we as much as put one tiny scratch on them, we'll be dead before we've even realized what happened. It is not in the nature of a Shemutah to be forgiving, and like Itachi said, the eclipse won't last forever." Konan said with a hint of annoyance in her voice

"So what do you plan to do?" Kisame growled at Konan

"The only thing we can do." Pein replied, "Negotiate."

* * *

"Alright Sakura! Let's take a lunch break." Anoreen called to her sister

Sakura's progress in training had finally satisfied Anoreen, and they had switched to sparring in preparation for that evening. Now they sat in a grove of desert trees hungrily gulping down their lunch. Sakura finished first and sat silently under a tall palm. She had a nervous look on her face, and Anoreen noticed immediately that she was also slightly shaking. "Don't be scared Sakura. Everything's going to be fine tonight. I'm impressed with how much you've mastered in such a short time. I have total faith in you. Besides, I'll be right there with you the whole time."

Sakura turned to look at her sister. She smiled weakly, "Thanks Anoreen. For everything."

* * *

"Is the plan understood?" Pein asked.

"Yeah. I'm interested to see how much damage these two can do even during this eclipse thing." Kisame replied sinisterly, "Right Itachi?" Itachi didn't answer. He just nodded and continued staring into space.

Konan turned curiously. It was normal for Itachi Uchiha to be silent unless necessary, but she'd never seen him not verbally answer Kisame. ' Was he afraid for some reason?' She wondered..."Very well." she said, "It's getting late. We should head out. Just stick to the plan."

"Yes." Pein agreed thoughtfully, "Stick to the plan, and we will have them."

* * *

"They'll be here soon." Anoreen said ominously, "It's time now. Training is over, and the eclipse is about to begin."


	6. Chapter 5: Eclipse

Chapter 5: Eclipse

A branch snapped in the nearby bushes and roused Sakura from her sleep. She sat up and looked around. Anoreen was leaning against the tree beside her. "They're close Sakura. you'd better get ready." she said

"Right." Sakura replied. She attempted to stand up, but found it much harder than expected. her whole body ached with weakness as she rose, using the tree to support herself. Sakura looked up at the night sky. Sure enough the moon was completely dark, even the stars seemed dimmer. Anoreen slowly stood up, and Sakura knew that for once, they were both equally as powerful. 'Great.' she thought to herself, 'We're both about as deadly as a kitten.'

Another branch snapped, but this time it was closer. Anoreen motioned to Sakura, and they both took up a ready stance. One thing was certain; they were not going down without a fight. Sakura was scared, but she wasn't going to show weakness in front of this group. Not in a million years. "I sense four of them," Anoreen said. She smirked, "and it looks like we're surrounded."

Sakura tensed and managed to dodge a kunai that had been thrown her way. It landed next to Anoreen, who forced it into the ground with her foot. 'Ok... maybe she is stronger than me right now.' Sakura voiced inwardly.

"You might as well come out. We know you're there." Anoreen said. Then, she threw four of her own kunai expertly in different directions. There was a satisfying clink of metal deflecting metal, telling her she had found all of her targets.

"Somewhat slower tonight aren't you Anoreen." a voice came from their left.

"Is that a challenge, Pein?" Anoreen snarled.

"Easy! Easy!" Pein replied smiling slightly and raising his hands in defense, "We're not here to fight you two. We came to negotiate-"

"Tch Could have fooled me with that kunai." Sakura cut in, "I'm not compelled to make a deal with someone who won't even show his or her face either."

"Watch your tongue little girl. I don't think you fully realize the situation you're in." another voice threatened from behind them.

Anoreen's eyes narrowed, and in a flash she was gone from Sakura's side. "Really Konan, I don't think you know the situation you're in." Sakura wheeled around. Anoreen now stood behind a blue-haired woman, holding a kunai threateningly close to her neck, "I suggest you have more respect form my sister when you speak." she growled, and drew the kunai in closer to Konan's throat. Then, Anoreen released her grip and shoved her into the clearing. Slightly out of breath, she then returned to stand with Sakura.

"Very well." Pein motioned, and the two remaining subordinates followed him into the clearing. Neither wore their usual headgear, and even in the dim glow of the night, it was obvious who they were.

"Pein, I'm disappointed in you!" the blonde taunted, "You come to make a deal with me, and you couldn't find better company than these blockheads?"

The giant shark-like swordsman apparently took offense by this, because he started to take a swipe at Anoreen. His partner, the black-haired Uchiha who stood in front, turned, "Kisame, stop it." he commanded coolly. "You're playing right into her hands." Like a dog, the giant blue fish-man halted his attack.

Anoreen turned to the Uchiha and laughed, "Good call 'Weasel', but I can see fear in your eyes." she trailed off with a touch of amusement under her usual threat.

Sakura looked at her sister, and then to the man before them. 'Is it really possible that someone as powerful as Itachi Uchiha could fear something?' she asked herself.

Anoreen continued to stare down the Uchiha. All eyes were fixed on the two that were silently facing off. Then to Sakura's amazement, Itachi fell to his knees and prostrated himself before her sister. "I apologize for the misunderstanding." he said, "My Lady, please continue."

' My Lady?! What the heck is going on here?!' Sakura was really confused now, and it showed on her face.

Anoreen turned to the leader, "You were saying..." she said calmly.

Pein closed his eyes and smirked, then he looked up and began. "As you know, our numbers are down due to the loss of two of our main members, Hidan and Kakuzu. The need to replace them is mandatory, and with thought I-"

"Yeah, I figured that much." Anoreen cut in impatiently, "You want us to replace them. Great. Now get to the point already!"

"If you let me speak, I will." Pein replied, "From what I've heard, you're in the process of training your sister. Am I right?"

Anoreen sighed, "Yes, though you're kinda off subject unless you're thinking about giving us time to work on our own for a little while." she said.

"I am willing to do that." Pein confirmed, "How long do you estimate training her will take?"

Anoreen looked up in surprise, "Give me a year." she answered, "After that, I give my word that our service will be yours."

Pein was satisfied. "Very well. We'll leave you now, but I'll expect you to report to me exactly one year from this day." He motioned to his followers; Itachi rose and bowed his head respectively. Then, in a flash, Anoreen and Sakura were alone again.

They stood in silence for a moment, "Anoreen," Sakura spoke, "why did Itachi do that? Have you met before or something?"

"You mean why he apologized to me?" Anoreen asked, "Yeah. We've met. It was shortly after he joined the Akatsuki; he was being cocky and getting on my father's nerves. So he told me to put him in his place."

"I'm guessing you did." Sakura smiled, slightly amused.

She laughed at this, "Yeah I did, and you should have seen the look on his face!"

"So why was he apologizing?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, that." Anoreen continued, "Somehow he got the idea that I hated him, and wanted to kill him. Naturally, he was paranoid. So with the last of my strength I went inside his head and corrected his thinking. That's why."

"Oh." Sakura said thoughtfully, though she could tell Anoreen was leaving something out. Her sister wouldn't normally care if someone thought she hated them, 'so why was he any different?' she asked herself as she sat down under the tree.

Anoreen smiled tiredly, "Get some rest Sakura." It was obvious she was exhausted from the ordeal, "We move tomorrow." she said.

"...Alright." Sakura replied sleepily. Her eyelids were heavy as she leaned against the tree trunk. A wave of exhaustion came over her as well, and she quietly fell back into a deep sleep.

* * *

"You ok Itachi?" Kisame stopped by his partner's room at the base, "What happened to you back there?"

"I'm fine. Don't worry about it." he replied, "You should get some rest."

Kisame hesitated, Itachi definitely seemed calmer now, but something was still on his mind. 'Or someone.' he thought. "...Right." he mumbled as he walked off.


	7. Chapter 6: The Empty Hourglass

Chapter 6: The Empty Hourglass

Sakura shot up out of her hotel bed, dripping in sweat. "So you finally woke up." she heard her sister's voice say, "Get dressed. We have to make it to the village by sundown." Anoreen commanded from her place by the window.

Sakura got out of bed and began dressing in the familiar black outfit her sister had bought for her almost a year ago. It fit her well, and thanks to Anoreen's training she was as deadly as she looked. She gently ran a brush through her now long, silky pink hair, and let it fall delicately onto the center of her back. Sakura had undergone many changes in the hear her sister had set aside to train her. She was taller, stronger, and more beautiful than she had ever been during her time in Konoha.

As they walked outside into the town they had stayed in, all heads turned to watch the two most notorious bounty hunters in the world leave their quiet costal village. "Why do they always have to look at us like we're about to kill them? It just makes me want to do it more." Sakura commented

Anoreen laughed, "If you think they look at you like that now, just wait." she said, "You might as well get used to it now, because after tonight, there's no turning back."

"I can't believe it's already been a year." Sakura replied.

"Mmhm" her sister agreed, "You might want to use a transformation since we've got to go by Sunagakarue. We wouldn't want anyone to recognize you since you're supposed to be dead. Word might get to Konoha about it."

"Oh. Right." Sakura said as she concentrated her chakra and performed the appropriate hand signs. A few moments later, a young, blonde-haired woman had replaced the beautiful pink-haired 16 year old. "How do I look?" she asked

"Like a regular Blondie." Anoreen emotionlessly replied, without even looking at her sister, "So what made you wake up like that this morning?" she inquired as they dashed through the forest.

"Oh nothing." Sakura answered, "It was just a dream."

"Were you looking down at the scene?" Anoreen questioned.

"What are you talking about?" Sakura asked.

"Just tell me! Were you or were you not looking down on the scene in your dream?" Anoreen pressed.

"Ok! Ok! Yes I was looking down on it, but there wasn't much to it. We were on our way to the base and someone came up to talk with us." she replied.

"Who did we see?" Anoreen asked.

"Sasuke... Sasuke Uchiha." Sakura answered slowly

"Was there anything else to your dream? Did he say or do anything else?" Anoreen drilled her sister.

"He said something, but I couldn't hear it. We ignored him and kept going into town. He followed, and then everything went black." Sakura recounted the experience, "Sasuke's face was the last thing I saw, and then I woke up."

Anoreen ran in silence for a second, "Is he precious to you?" she asked.

Sakura wasn't expecting a question like that, and it took her a minute to register it, "... Yes." she said with a distant look in her eyes.

"They'll kill him." Anoreen told her.

"What?!" Sakura snapped back into the current conversation.

"If he comes into the village, they'll kill him." she repeated.

"No." Sakura said in disbelief, "They can't! I'll die if they do!" she turned to her sister, "Anoreen, I love him." she said with tears in her eyes.

Anoreen knew what her younger sister said was true. "I understand," she sympathized, "and I'll do whatever I can to stop it from happening."

Sakura bowed her head in relief, "Thank you." she said.

--

They arrived at the hidden rain village just as the sun began to set. As the two kunoichi neared the gate, Sakura sensed the presence of her old comrade nearby. She sped up to walk with her sister. "He's coming." she spoke quietly, afraid of being overheard.

"Ok." Anoreen spoke calmly, "I've got it under control." She could see two dark figures waiting for them just inside the gates. Despite the overcast sky, she could still see the red glint of the older Uchiha's constantly activated Sharingan glowing from beneath his hat. "Great." she mumbled to herself sarcastically. She sighed and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they were jet black with a red pinwheel design replacing her pupil. Then, she concentrated her chakra to produce a translucent copy of herself, which quickly disappeared from her side. A few moments later it appeared facing the two at the gate. "Weasel," it began relaying it's message, "until we're inside the gates I need you and fishy to stay out of this and not be seen. Got it?"

Itachi closed his eyes, "...Yes." he replied to her messenger clone, knowing that she would get the message.

Anoreen watched , satisfied, as the two slid into the shadows of the village walls. She trusted Itachi's word that they wouldn't interfere, and concentrated on the task before her.

"Hey." a voice called after them.

Sakura froze, and slowly turned to face the direction they had come. Out of habit, her hand came to rest in a loose fist on her chest. It was him. A young black-haired teen was walking their way.

"Just don't break your transformation, Sakura." Anoreen muttered as she turned to face the new arrival. "Can I help you?" she said sweetly, forcing a smile onto her face.

"Yeah. You two are those notorious bounty hunters aren't you?" he didn't wait for an answer. "I need you to help me kill someone."

Anoreen let her smile fall. "Look kid," she began, "we're bounty hunters not baby sitters. Neither of us are going to hold your hand while you stab someone. It's all or nothing. Elite ninja can't even survive in their own village, and you think you can survive out here by yourself?! You're out of your league. Why don't you just go home." at these words, a portal appeared directly beneath the younger Uchiha and sucked him in. A look of surprise came over his face, and then he was gone.

Sakura sighed and relaxed her muscles. "Don't you think that might've been a little harsh?" she asked.

"Hmm...Death or Konoha, which one sounds more harsh to you?" Anoreen asked rhetorically. Sakura shrugged, and they continued walking.

Sasuke found himself plummeting through the sky towards a familiar training ground. He forced himself to stay calm, and concentrated on his landing. There was a tree directly below him with an out-jutting branch that seemed ideal. Sasuke concentrated his chakra and landed firmly on the branch. Suddenly, there was a loud crack and the branch gave way, leaving him to fall unprepared to the forest floor. "Aah!" he yelped as he landed hard on his back. That did it. He couldn't control himself any longer, "I'm home! Hope you're happy now!" Sasuke screamed in the direction of the sky he had fallen from, "You batty old hags." he mumbled, slowly getting up to take in his surroundings. The training field was the same as he remembered it, and Sasuke could see the K.I.A. monument just to his left in the clearing. Though, however much it was the same, it was also different. Just beside the old monument, a stone path had been laid down, and led into an unfamiliar grove of fully blossomed cherry trees.

Sasuke got up and moved into the clearing. he was curious about this new path, and made his way over to it. The wind blew gently through the trees, sending delicate pink petals to brush against his face and fall to the ground in front of him like tears. Something about the way they fell unnerved him for some reason. 'What the heck Sasuke, they're just blossoms.' he told himself. 'Yeah. A whole grove of sakura trees whose blossoms fall like tears. Not eerie at all.' the other half of him remarked skeptically. Sasuke breathed in deep, and followed the path. Eventually, it led into a clearing, where Naruto stood looking down at the base of what was obviously a monument.

Something wasn't right. Sasuke could clearly see tears falling down his old teammate's face. "Naruto?" he inquired, "Naruto what is this?"

Naruto looked up with a mixture of surprise and extreme sadness on his tear-stained face. "Sasuke..." he said in amazement, "Take a closer look at the statue."

Sasuke walked closer, and looked up at the stone figure on top of the monument. It was the image of a young ANBU girl holding her mask, close to her face as if she was taking it off, in her right hand. In the other that hung limply by her side, she held a headband with a scratch through the village symbol. The wind seemed to be blowing her hair back to reveal a sad face with longing eyes, which gave Sasuke the impression that she was searching for someone. Even in stone, it was unmistakably Sakura. He looked down a the inscription on the base, and fell to his knees in horror.

"This isn't just a monument." Naruto said sadly, "It's a grave."

It read:

"I refuse to be a be a burden to anyone"

Here lies the valiant and loving Sakura Haruno.

Born March 28- 

Died honorably at the age of 15

Rank: ANBU commander of unit 172

"No." Sasuke held back tears, "She can't be dead. There's no way." he told himself

"Tsunade checked the body herself." Naruto said numbly, "Sakura's dead Sasuke. She died protecting her clan from a rouge ninja. The trees you see mark the graves of the rest of her clan."

"I should never have left. I should have listened to her." Sasuke continued to blame himself, "I should have told her the truth about how I really feel about her. It's all my fault. I should have told her I loved her every day, but now I've run out of time. All the time we could have shared is gone." As he said this, a single tear slid down his cheek. It was the first tear he'd shed in 9 years.

Every step now brought Anoreen and Sakura ever deeper into the dark labyrinth of the Akatsuki base. They had met Itachi and Kisame at the gate and were swiftly escorted through town. Sakura took in her surroundings as she was led on towards the far room. Aside from the steady sound of footsteps echoing through the corridor, it was completely silent. Anoreen had sped up to walk with Itachi, leaving Sakura to walk behind with Kisame.

They soon reached the door where the two sister's were to meet with the leader to finalize the deal that had been proposed exactly one year ago. Itachi knocked on the door and waited. "Come in." a voice answered from the other side. The group entered silently and awaited further orders from the dark figure that stood gazing out the large pane of windows at the rain. "Itachi, you and Kisame may leave now. My business is with these two." Pein instructed.

"Yeah Weasel, beat it!" Anoreen echoed playfully, and Itachi smiled slightly.

Sakura rolled her eyes. 'This better not turn into a yuck fest.' she groaned silently.

Fortunately, their escorts turned and headed out, closing the door afterwards.

"Have a seat." Pein said as he made his way over to his desk and took a seat himself. Once his guest were seated he continued, "My part of the deal has been taken care of, and so far you have held true to your word. I hope you're planning to fulfill it completely, because if-" Sakura cut him off.

"We gave our word that we would be under your command after a year's preparation." she confided, "As Shemutahs, our word is law. Do not doubt us."

Pein smiled. "Very well." he replied, "Let us begin."


	8. Chapter 7: Spirit

Chapter 7: Spirit

"So what exactly happened again?" Tsunade asked. Ever since the death of her apprentice she'd been in the worst mood imaginable, and the situation at hand wasn't helping one bit.

"Uggh! How many times do I have to tell you?!" Sasuke replied for the fifth time, "I had enough and killed Orochimaru about a year ago, and concentrated on killing my brother. I failed, and decided to hire those two kunoichi bounty hunters that everyone's talking about. I found them outside Amegakure (hidden rain village) and asked them to help me. Then one of them started monolouging about how I was out of my league. She told me to go home, and the next thing I know, I land on my butt in the middle of the training field."

"Do you seriously expect me to believe that garbage?!" Tsunade yelled, standing up from behind her desk. "You'd better tell me the truth right now Uchiha, or so help me! I'll force you to the hard way!!"

Sasuke sighed, "I keep telling you I'm not lying! Why can't you just believe me?"

"Because technically you're a rouge!" Tsunade shot back. She breathed out deeply and sat back in her chair. "Alright. I've warned you." she said motioning to the four ANBU stationed on the back wall.

They moved swiftly, and before Sasuke knew it he was pinned down on the floor of the Hokage's office. "Hey, what the!" he said as he struggled to get loose, but with two ANBU holding down his arms, and two bearing down on his legs, it was futile. "Let me go!" he cried.

"Shizune," Tsunade commanded, "hurry up and get it over with. I don't want to hear him screaming any more than I have to." she said

"Y-yes mi Lady." her assistant replied, and walked over to where the young Uchiha lay helplessly. She knelt down, and pulled a syringe out of the folds of her robe. Then, she forced Sasuke to turn his head to the side.

Out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke could see the dark brown-haired woman drawing closer with the nasty looking syringe. He didn't like that she was aiming for his head and struggled against her hand. "What are you-" he asked worriedly.

"Just try and relax." Shizune cut him off, "It'll be over soon."

Sasuke almost thought he sensed pity in her voice; and what was that 'try and relax' stuff she had told him? Was it supposed to be comforting or something?!

Before he could figure it out, he felt something prick his temple, and was instantly enveloped in excruciating pain. He screamed. Tsunade couldn't help putting her hands over her ears. 'Good grief!' she thought, ' He's going to wake up the whole town!' "Shizune! How much longer?" she called over Sasuke's blood-curling cries.

"Almost done!" she yelled back, resisting the urge to clamp her own hands over her pained ears. Shizune finally finished the injection and removed the syringe from Sasuke's temple.

He continued to cry out in pain, not even realizing that the ANBU had released him. All he could do was lie on the floor screaming. His memories jumped back to the last time he had felt this much pain, and how Sakura had held him in her arms, willing it all away. Now more than ever, he wished she was there to comfort him.

--

Sakura gasped. Even miles away in the depths of the Akatsuki base, she could still sense Sasuke's pain. 'I have to do something!' her mind cried. She stood up from her chair and turned to Pein. "Excuse me, but I have something I need to attend to." she said firmly. Then, Sakura activated her ganshi (the Shemutah clan's kekkai genkai) and created a small portal. She then used yet another transformation jutsu and quickly hurried through into what seemed to be empty space. The portal closed behind her.

It was silent for a moment. "...What could she possibly have to attend to right now?" the leader asked, annoyed.

"Not what," Anoreen replied, "who." They were silent for a moment, "She'll be back in a minute." the blonde said calmly.

--

Almost as an answer to Sasuke's cries, he suddenly felt a gentle brush against his arm. "Sasuke..." a voice spoke softly in his ear. He opened his eyes, and found himself gazing up at a flowing mass of cherry blossoms that had taken the form of a young kunoichi. Her soft petal hair floated smoothly around her face, and her delicate hand rested on Sasuke's shoulder. Bright green leaves became her eyes as she knelt by him and gazed softly down at him.

"Sakura?" he inquired, amazed at what was happening.

She smiled sadly at him. "Yes." the voice answered from somewhere inside the mass of petals and leaves. Then, she leaned forward to gently kiss his forehead.

Tsunade and Shizune sat gaping at the unbelievable sight before them. Even the ANBU were too stunned to move. Then, starting at the feet, the body began to disperse and trail slowly out the window.

"I'm sorry Sasuke, but I can't stay." the voice spoke as her torso began to disappear, "I don't have enough energy to last much longer. I've got to go on. My kiss will protect you no matter what happens, and I want you to know I still love you."

"No." Sasuke said desperately, "Don't leave me Sakura, I need you!" he cried.

"Goodbye." she said, and finally disappeared completely.

"No...Come back!" Sasuke whimpered.

Tsunade was still speechless. Between the appearance of her deceased apprentice, and mister emotionless Uchiha getting this worked up, she didn't know what to say.

--

A few moments later, another portal opened up in the Akatsuki leader's office, and Sakura entered quietly to reclaim her seat. "Sorry for the interruption." she said, "Please, continue."

--

Several minutes passed, and Tsunade finally found her voice, "Ok. I'll make this quick...Is what you've already told me true, or not?"

Sasuke finally sat up, the pain was gone. "...Yes." he said.

Tsunade was satisfied. The injection she had given the Uchiha was one that forced the injected to tell the truth. "Alright. Take him to his room," she instructed the ANBU, "and I want guards posted around the clock."

"Yes mi Lady." they replied, as two bent over to pull Sasuke up onto his feet. After securing his wrists, he was led away quietly, too tired to resist.


	9. Chapter 8: Princess

Chapter 8: Princess

Pein snapped his fingers, and suddenly, a pair of stone hands rose from his desk. The wrists were chained together, and the palms faced upwards. Its fingers had been formed as if the hands held two invisible spheres, and were bare, save for two rings. A large scroll had also appeared in front of Anoreen and her sister.

"Before we start, I need to discuss a few things." Pein stated. Neither of the sisters had anything to say, so he continued, "The two of you are to take the place of Hidan and Kakuzu, but instead of receiving their old rings I have found it necessary to create new ones. Anoreen, since your specialty is death, you are to bear 'darkness'. Sakura, because you are a medical ninja, you will be 'light'. I am placing you both as my second in command; you answer to no one except me. Also because you are second in command, I have decided that you deserve nicer uniforms. After we finish here, Konan will show you to your rooms that I have prepared for you. Your uniforms are already there, and I expect you to wear them anywhere outside your rooms. Am I understood?"

"Yes sir." Sakura replied.

Anoreen was looking out the window at the rain, and didn't say anything. Pein turned to her and waited. She reluctantly returned his gaze and sighed, "Yeah. I get it." she answered.

"Good." He said, and motioned to a shadow in the corner. A blue-haired woman emerged to stand by the leader's side. "Anoreen, I trust you know the procedure, please unroll the scroll and take the ring off the left pointer finger. Sakura, take the left middle." After they had done this and placed the rings on their own corresponding fingers, Pein continued. "Alright, now sign your names to the scroll with the blood of the finger you placed your rings on."

Anoreen obeyed, and afterwards Sakura followed suit. Pein then took it and held both hands over their signatures. Next, he began to spread his chakra over the flat surface of the paper and spoke something under his breath. To Sakura's surprise, the blood began to fade into the paper. A few moments later the stains were completely gone, and Pein released his focused chakra.

Suddenly, both sisters felt a sharp pain in the fingers that wore their rings. It felt as if something was being carved into them, and as Sakura looked down she saw that 'light' was slowly being etched into the top of her ring. Anoreen winced as a circle of black began to form on the top of her own.

"Wh- what is this?" Sakura asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, nnh!" her sister spoke through gritted teeth, "It'll stop in a minute, aah! It's just registering our rings."

"I apologize." Pein said, "Konan, why don't you take them to their rooms so they can rest."

"Yes sir." The third woman answered obediently, "This way." she directed Anoreen and Sakura towards the door.

They followed Konan out the door and up a flight of stairs to the top floor. There was a short hallway with a polished wooden door that led into a central lounging area with two doors leading off in opposite directions. "The left door goes to your room Anoreen, and the right side belongs to you Sakura." Konan explained, "You two are the only ones on this floor, so it's all yours."

The sisters hurried off to explore their new rooms. If they had thought the central area was nice, then their rooms would have been palaces. Even Anoreen was impressed by the intricate and detailed world she now stood in. Her new quarters consisted of a bedroom fit for a queen, a huge closet, an extra room for her work, and her own bathroom. Not only were they royally decorated, they were also comfortable.

"It's beautiful!" she said as Konan followed in after her.

"Of course, Pein insisted on having only the best for his princesses." The blue-haired woman replied smiling, "Your uniform is hanging on the mannequin over there." she added, pointing towards the corner.

Anoreen turned and walked over to it. It was made of the same material as the ordinary coats, but it was far from being common. In essence, it was a dress, although it had been modified for free movement. The top fabric crossed over one shoulder and ran under the right arm like a sash. Under it was a one-sleeved mesh shirt to cover the bare skin of her right shoulder and arm. Both sleeves had been cut kimono style and hung two inches past Anoreen's fingertips. As her eyes traveled farther down, she saw that a wide band of red silk had been added around the waist to bring the material in for a more fitted look. The bottom edge of the dress made a slash from mid thigh on the left leg, and down to the right knee. For obvious reasons, a pair of black biker-like shorts had been hung next to the mannequin to be worn underneath. There was also a black hooded cloak hanging from a peg on the wall. Anoreen figured it was the equivalent to the other member's hats, which were used to hide identities. "Wow." She said, reaching out to stroke the soft fabric of her new wardrobe.

"Do you like it?" Konan asked.

"Yes...Thank you." Anoreen replied, mystified by the work that had been put into it.

Konan smiled, "That's good." she remarked, "Your sister's already asleep, you should get some rest too. It's been a long day for everyone"

"Alright." the blonde replied, remembering the pain in her hand, "Thanks again." she said turning around to face the older woman as she headed out the door.

"Don't mention it...princess." Konan said as she pulled the door quietly shut behind her.


	10. Chapter 9: Closed Doors

Chapter 9: Closed Doors

"Come on Anoreen, wake up!" Sakura yelled as she shook her sister, in an effort to rouse her awake, "Pein's got something he wants you to do, now wake up!" she said as she gave her sister's limp body a shove. She gave up trying, and flopped down on the floor.

"Wonderful." Kisame groaned from the doorway, "Even her sister can't get her up."

Itachi turned to watch the main door as it opened and a tall blonde man walked in purposefully. "Good grief! I can hear you guys all the way downstairs. What's going on up here?!" he asked, somewhat annoyed.

"Well, well, if it isn't Deidara." Kisame sneered, "When did you get back?"

"Just now." He replied flatly, "Now would somebody like to tell me what's wrong."

"Anoreen won't wake up." Itachi emotionlessly replied.

Deidara sighed, "Pathetic." he said and went over to his former partner's daughter. He yanked the covers off her, and then proceeded to carry her limp body out to the couch of the central room. Then, the blonde held her up about three feet above the couch and dropped her. Anoreen stirred, but rolled over and went back to sleep. He was ticked off at her stubbornness, and reached into his cloak as he spoke, "Really Anoreen is this necessary? Quit fooling around and wake up already." At this, Deidara pulled out a marble-sized clay bird and placed it on her shoulder, "All I've got to say, is that you brought this on yourself." he said calmly as he brought his hand up in front of his face. "Kai!" was all he said, and suddenly there was a small explosion.

For a split second there was silence, then Anoreen was up and running. "Dei-dar-aaah!!" she yelled murderously, spitting out every syllable, "I'm goanna kill you!"

"Crap! I'm out of here!" Deidara exclaimed as he ran for the door, "Anoreen, you brought it on yourself!" he hollered back as he jumped down the stairs.

Despite her anger, Anoreen remembered what Pein had said the day before, and stopped at the door. "You'd better sleep with your eyes open!!" she yelled back before stomping into her room, shoving Sakura, Kisame, and Itachi out, and finally slamming the door behind her.

The three stood in silence, contemplating what they had just witnessed. "…Yeah…I'm just going to go get dressed now." Sakura said. Then she turned and went to her own room, leaving the two men by themselves.

Itachi closed his eyes and exhaled in what almost seemed like a sigh. Almost.

"So…" Kisame said, breaking the awkward silence, "She's up now. I guess…"

"Really." His partner replied. The conversation was over, and all they had left to do was wait.

Fifteen minutes later, Sakura came out of her room wearing her new uniform. It was different than Anoreen's, but still displayed a similar design. It was strapless, and only reached down a few inches below her thigh. A wide band of silk wrapped around her waist and ended in a simple bow in the back. Long sleeves, similar to her sister's were strapped on just above her biceps, and hung past her fingertips. Sakura had added a pair of black, fitted shorts, which reached two inches past her uniform, underneath for personal comfort. She also wore her cloak draped lightly over her shoulders.

She stopped to finish pulling her shoes on and then came to wait with Itachi and Kisame on the couch. "Forget what I said, she probably went back to sleep." Itachi spoke, as unreadable as ever.

"Hey!" Anoreen yelled from her room, "I heard that!" The knob turned and Anoreen walked out fully dressed, "You're annoying 'Weasel'" she said harshly.

"And you're beautiful." Itachi replied as he stood up and walked over to her.

Anoreen smiled slightly and pushed past him, but just as Itachi had hoped, she was no longer mad at him. "So what does Pein need me to do again?" she asked, stopping at the door to listen.

"He's got a door he can't open, and thinks you would be able to." The Uchiha replied, "I'm sure you've got an idea as to which one. Don't you."

She smirked, "Hmph you could say that. Come on Sakura." the blonde said as she headed downstairs. Her smile faded as she got to the bottom of the stairs. She knew where she was going, and it pained her to see it. Too many memories where locked up behind that closed door, now bittersweet due to his death. She stopped at the third door on the right. This was it.

"This is it?" Sakura asked, "Anoreen, where are we?"

Her sister closed her eyes, and her face took on a pained expression. "Sasori's room." She said stiffly, knowing that if she had said 'My father' she would have lost control and attacked Sakura.

The pink head immediately realized the danger in her situation and kept quiet, even backing up a little to give her sister some room.

Anoreen reached out to touch the smooth wood that reminded her so much of her childhood. She opened her eyes and sighed. "Alright." She muttered to herself. Then she slid her hand down to where years ago, before Deidara had come along, a doorknob had once been. Now, the intricate lock that her father had constructed to keep his explosive partner out was all that remained. She quickly unlocked the outside mechanism. That was the easy part. What no one but Sasori himself, and Anoreen knew was that there was a second chakra-sensitive lock behind the first. She pulled back the panel above, that the outer lock had loosened, and placed her fingers in the five depressions of the newly revealed metal plate. Anoreen then channeled her chakra into the tips of her fingers, said something under her breath, and turned the plate to the left. There was a soft click and to Anoreen's satisfaction, the door swung open.

"Don't let your guard down." She instructed Sakura as they crossed the threshold. Anoreen found the switch, and flicked the lights on.

Sakura gasped, hundreds of puppets lined the walls of the room, and spare parts covered a long work bench. Two huge cabinets covered the wall behind them and she didn't have to imagine what was in them. "So this is all Pein wanted to do right?" she asked, wanting to get out as quickly as possible, "We can leave now right?" The puppets were starting to creep her out; after all, she knew all of them had once been human. It was rather unsettling to see their blank faces staring down at her.

"Not yet." Anoreen said as she made her way to the closet. She knew it had to be in there somewhere.

"What are you doing over there?" her sister questioned nervously.

"Just wait there if you're scared." She said as she searched the walls of the closet. Then, she found a hidden latch under her hand and pulled. Anoreen smiled, she had found what she was looking for.


	11. Chapter 10: Alive

Chapter 10: Alive

"Hey, Anoreen, what are you doing over there?" Sakura called to her sister.

"Just hang on a minute. I found something." The blonde replied.

"What is it? I'm coming over."

"No! Stay where you are it's too dangerous." Anoreen cut in, "I'll be out in a minute." At this, she disappeared into the small newly discovered room.

"Anoreen? ..." The young kunoichi called. No answer, "Anoreen don't leave me alone in here!" she yelled as she ran after her sister. Sakura went into the closet and saw the shadowy figure of her sister in a secret room. She had one foot in; when suddenly there was a rush of air, and a white mass swooped down to attack her.

Anoreen spun around, "Sakura get down you idiot!" she yelled as she extended chakra strings toward the attacker, trying to gain control.

Sakura fell backwards and braced herself, but the pain never came. She cautiously opened her eyes to see that her attacker, a white clothed puppet, had stopped a few inches from her face, and now hovered there as if someone had hit pause. "Really Sakura would it kill you to listen to what I say every once in a while?" Anoreen asked, annoyed by her sister's disobedience. "I told you to wait over there, and before that I warned you not to let your guard down. You could have died! What's wrong with you today?"

"S-sorry." She stuttered, "I'll try to be more careful."

"Yeah, you will." Anoreen confirmed as she pulled the puppet back and set it down on the bed, "That's Mira by the way." She said, pointing to the now lifeless puppet, "She was created to protect me, so naturally when someone unfamiliar came in, she decided to attack."

"But how can a puppet think?" Sakura asked, confused, "I mean, they're dead aren't they?"

"Most of them, but there are a few, like Mira, that my father and I purposely implanted a conscience in. The others are fairly tame, but they still attack every so often. That's why I told you to be alert." The blonde replied, "...You may as well come in. She won't attack now."

Sakura nodded and cautiously stepped into the room, tensed for further attacks, but after a few minutes of peace, she relaxed and walked over to her sister. Anoreen had turned her attention back to the single piece of paper that she had found lying folded on the desk. "What is that?" Sakura asked curiously.

"I don't know. That's what I'm trying to figure out." Her sister replied, sliding her finger into the crease and unfolding it. Anoreen's eyebrows creased as she recognized the style of handwriting it had been written in, "It's from Sasori." she confirmed as she began to read.

Anoreen shook as she finished reading, and the letter fell from her hands. "Daddy." She said softly to herself as tears of relief slid down her face. She had really thought he was dead, but here was living proof that he was still alive. What should she do?

"Anoreen, are you ok?" Sakura asked with some concern in her voice.

Her sister turned to face her and nodded, still in a state of shock from what she had just read. "Daddy's still alive."

"No way..." the pink-headed girl said incredulously, "What are you going to do?" she asked.

"He said not to tell anyone just yet, and to come find him when the time was right... but I'm not sure what he meant by that." Anoreen replied slowly.

"We'd better leave before someone walks by and sees the door open. If he's still alive I don't think he would want Pein redecorating." Sakura commented.

"You've got that right!" her sister replied as she slipped the note into the desk drawer, "Let's go! Oh, and we tried everything, but the door wouldn't budge."

"Of course!" she agreed slyly.

As they stepped outside and quietly closed the door back, they heard footsteps coming their way. "Shoot, it's Pein!" Anoreen cursed under her breath.

"Ah! Anoreen, Sakura any progress?" a voice called from behind the two sisters.

"No, sorry. We've tried everything, and it won't budge even a little bit." Sakura answered wearily.

"No luck huh?" the man's voice remarked with less enthusiasm, "That's too bad. If you can't open it Anoreen, I guess no one can. Ok then... You're dismissed. You're welcome to go eat some breakfast in the kitchen. I don't have anything else for you to do, so feel free to explore all you like."

"Thank you. We'll do that." Anoreen replied, ending the conversation. They watched as Pein walked away. Then, the blonde turned to her sister, "That was a really good act you pulled off back there. I'm impressed!"

"Thanks." Sakura replied, "I don't know about you, but I'm hungry."

"You said it." Her sister replied somewhat absentmindedly as they walked down towards the light at the end of the hallway.


	12. Chapter 11: Goodbye

Chapter 11: Goodbye

"Hey! Anoreen, wake up!" a voice called as a firm hand shook her awake.

"Nnh! What do you want Deidara?" Anoreen groaned, slapping him away.

"I just came to tell you goodbye." He replied.

"You're leaving?" she asked as she turned over to face him.

"Yeah. Pein and Konan left an hour ago, and put you in charge." Deidara answered.

"Joy." Anoreen said.

There was silence for a moment, but it was quickly broken by the voice of a third person. "Deidara stop talking to the new bitch and let's go!!"

The tall ex-stone ninja sighed, "Speaking of joys..."

"Yeah. He's about to get introduced to the new girl." An instantly ticked off kunoichi agreed as she stiffly got out of bed and stormed over to the door.

"Be my guest." He replied, smirking in anticipation of the beating that his partner was to receive. He followed the fuming Anoreen out of her room, and leaned on the doorframe as she stormed over to the spiky-haired man.

"Good morning Tobi." She said in a fake tone of politeness.

"Huh? Oh morning b-" he didn't get to finish. An infuriated Anoreen had yanked him up by the collar, "You want to run that by me again Uchiha?!" She didn't wait for an answer. Instead, she took an iron fist and punched him in the stomach. He flew up, but not for long. Anoreen jumped and slammed a merciless kick into his back, sending him plummeting face first, into the floor. "Next time, think before you say something idiot!!"

'Ooh! That's got to hurt!" Deidara thought as he smiled in amusement.

Suddenly, there was a loud wham as an annoyed Sakura came out of her room and slammed the door behind her. "What is going on in here?!" she yelled.

"Oh. Hag, thank goodness! Your sister's trying to kill me!" Tobi remarked.

"Oh boy." Anoreen mumbled to herself.

'This is going to be good.' Deidara smiled inwardly.

Sakura twitched, but kept her emotions under control. "You remind me a lot of an old teammate of mine." She said coldly, turning to the dark-head.

"Why thank you!" he replied.

"That wasn't a compliment." The pink-haired girl said stiffly.

"Well then, that's not very nice, for-" again, Tobi was cut short.

Sakura had rushed up and aimed a furious kick below the belt and, as usual, hit her mark. "Aaahhhhh!" Tobi screamed as he flew into the wall behind. He hit hard, and slid limply down to the floor.

"You wanna try addressing me again?! Or should I kill you now?" Sakura yelled across the room.

"N-no! Tobi is a good boy!" her victim cried shakily.

"Tch! Yeah right. Now out!" she yelled as she dragged him, whimpering, to the door and tossed him down the stairs.

"...Remind me to stay on your good side." Deidara commented as he walked cautiously to the door, "Bye Anoreen! I should be back in a few weeks."

"See you!" she said, following him to the door. She waved as he headed downstairs, and then went back into her room to change. Sakura, who had finally calmed down, also returned to her room to put on her uniform.

A short time later, both sisters headed downstairs to the kitchen where they found Itachi and Kisame sitting at the long banquet-like table. "Well, well look who finally decided to come down." The blue fish-man taunted, "I hope you don't plan on beating up anyone else today."

"Shut up you idiot." Sakura growled as she and Anoreen both shot an evil look at Kisame.

Itachi sat up curiously, "Bad morning?" he asked between bites of the peach he held in his hand.

"You could say that." Anoreen said, turning to face the Uchiha, "I wouldn't bring it up if I were you. Apparently, Sakura fights dirty when she's mad."

"I could see that happening." He replied, taking another bite.

Kisame grunted. "Itachi, hurry up and finish that peach. We need to get going if we want to reach the fire/sand country border by nightfall." He urged.

"I know." His partner replied calmly as he took one last bite and tossed the pit in the trash.

"You're leaving too?" Anoreen asked, "Do I really smell that bad?" she inquired jokingly.

"Yes Anoreen, you stink. We were all given orders to evacuate till you take a shower." Sakura said moodily.

Itachi stood up, "Pein ordered us to check out a mountain range on the border. We'll be back in no time." He said reassuringly as he and Kisame headed outside.

"Wait!" Anoreen said suddenly fearful of something.

The black-haired man turned around to face her, "What's wrong 'An'?" He had lost track of her until he felt warm, delicate arms wrap around his waist, and looked down to find a teary-eyed, blonde kunoichi desperately clinging to him.

"Don't go." She cried as she buried her face into the folds of his coat. Then, Anoreen felt strong arms pull her in close.

"'An'...I have to." He said gently, reaching up to stroke her soft, golden hair, "It'll be ok."

"No it won't! He'll kill you 'Weasel'! You have to promise me you won't go to those mountains!" she exclaimed as she tightened her grip on his middle.

Itachi sighed and pulled her away. Tears were streaming down her face, and she wouldn't even look at him. He put his hand under her chin, and gently tilted her head up to face his own. She opened her eyes and sadly gazed up into his deep cobalt eyes. "I can't. And no, I'm not going to let you go risk your life for me... I love you." He said seriously as he closed the gap between their lips.

Suddenly, the room disappeared and Anoreen fell into his arms. Eyes closed, she gratefully returned the kiss, and Itachi moved his hand back down to her waist. She responded by wrapping an arm around his neck, and placing her hand on the back of his head. She opened her mouth and he willingly explored it with his tongue. Itachi felt the tie that held back his hair being pulled out and Anoreen began threading her fingers through it, but didn't mind. He hand her in his arms, and that's all that mattered as he began to work down her neck. He nibbled on her ear, and she groaned with pleasure as he returned to her lips, but all too soon they were forced to pull apart for lack of air.

When they did, the room and the rest of its occupants returned. Sakura stood by the refrigerator, hand still gripping the door handle, with a look of disbelief covering her face. Kisame just looked utterly disgusted as he stood on the porch step.

Anoreen blushed, and after retying his low ponytail, slid her hands down to his chest. Itachi disappointedly raised his hands up to rest on her upper arms. "Be careful." The blonde said softly.

He smiled gently, "I will." he replied, pulling her into a hug.

She accepted it for a moment, and then pulled away, conscious of her sister's eyes boring into the back of her head. "Goodbye." She whispered.

"Goodbye." He echoed, leaning forward one last time to kiss her forehead before turning to follow Kisame out the door.

Anoreen watched until he was out of sight, then closed the door and walked dazedly back to the kitchen to find some breakfast. Sakura still hadn't moved from her place by the fridge, and watched jealously as her sister moved towards the basket of fruit on the counter. When Sakura continued to glare, Anoreen became increasingly annoyed. "I don't know why you're so jealous Sakura. You like Sasuke anyway. What does it matter if I kiss his older brother?" she said sternly.

"It's not about whom I love, or even what you just did!" the young kunoichi burst out, and suddenly became sober.

Her sister's face softened, "I know... It's because you had to tell him goodbye, while I've got 'Weasel' wrapped around my finger. I'm sorry, and I'll try not to act like that in front of you anymore." She promised, pulling a peach from the basket. "I'll tell you what, after breakfast we can go shopping. Does that sound good?"

"But you hate shopping." Sakura replied confusedly.

Anoreen only smiled. "Think of it as payback." She said.


	13. Chapter 12: Missing Link

Chapter 12: Missing Link

"So remind me again, what possessed me to take you shopping?" Anoreen said, annoyed by the fact that she and her sister were in a clothing store in Amegakarue trying on clothes.

"You felt bad for showing off your boyfriend in front of me and wanted to make me feel better." Her sister replied as she searched through the clothing racks.

"No I didn't. You drugged me or something. I was definitely not in my right mind." The disguised blonde argued. "I'm tired of looking like a little green-haired villager. There's nothing intimidating about me! I can't believe I'm saying this, but I miss the looks of fear that people usually give me!"

"I didn't drug you. It was probably a dose of you and your boyfriend just decided to randomly start making-out in the middle of the kitchen." She replied calmly, still absentmindedly leafing through clothes.

'It wasn't random!" Anoreen argued, "Just because you came in late doesn't mean it's anything new!"

"So you did leave something out!" her dark-haired companion exclaimed.

She froze, "I might've."

"I knew it! But that means you two have been together for a long time, and the misunderstanding wasn't what you said it was. That was settled way before last year. You two got in a fight, and he was apologizing for it." Sakura let the words fall from her mouth.

"Read me like a book why don't you!" the older admitted, somewhat annoyed. "Yeah, we got in a fight, but we're over it now. Are you done yet?"

"No, I still want to know why you lied to me." She said, turning to face Anoreen.

"...I just thought it would make things difficult if you knew. I'm sorry." Her sister replied, "You can be mad at me if you want. I know I would be."

Sakura sighed. "I'm not mad at you. I just didn't know what was going on...I'm done here. Let's go back."

* * *

The next day...

Anoreen woke up early, wrote a note, and left the base. She was becoming restless, and was in desperate need of someone else to talk to. Today she chose to torment her old acquaintance, Tsunade.

* * *

Sakura had just stepped outside into the street for a morning walk when a familiar fish-like figure appeared before her. "Sakura! Thank goodness I found you!" he paused and looked around, "Where's your sister?"

"She went somewhere this morning, and said she'd be back tomorrow. Why? What's wrong?" she replied curiously.

"Well...When Anoreen said that if we went to those mountains...by 'he'll kill you' she didn't mean the spirit of some dead guy that claims he's your uncle and has an obsession with killing Uchihas did she?" he asked.

"It's like you've met Kidon!" Sakura exclaimed, "...Oh no."

"Oh yes." Kisame corrected.

"And you just left him there?!" she cried incredulously, "Anoreen will have your head if he dies!"

"I know! Now can we hurry up and go?!" he said, grabbing her hand and trying to pull her away.

She easily freed herself from his grasp. "Wait." She commanded, "I have a better idea." With this, she performed the appropriate hand signs and a portal appeared. "Go. I'll follow as soon as you're through."

He nodded and cautiously stepped through. Sakura waited for him to get out of the way, then followed after Kisame, the portal closing behind her.

* * *

"Tsunade-sama." An ANBU said as he entered, "Uchiha Sasuke refuses to eat."

Tsunade sighed, one more problem she had to deal with. "Right. Bring him to me."

"Yes mi Lady." The ANBU replied before disappearing.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the hokage's office door. "Come in." she called. The door opened, and a young dark-haired teen entered the room.

"What do you want now? Is it time to pin me down on the floor again?" the Uchiha asked disrespectfully.

Tsunade rolled her eyes, "Why aren't you eating? Are you trying to starve to death?"

"At least then I could be with Sakura!" he retorted.

"You idiot. Come with me. If you're not going to eat I'll have to make you."

"Who says I'm going to just come with you? Maybe I want to die!" Sasuke yelled defensively.

"Pathetic." A voice said from the corner, "Just plain pathetic."

The raven-haired teen jerked his head in the direction of the voice, only to find the blonde kunoichi that had sent him plummeting down to Konoha leaning against the wall with her arms crossed and a smug look on her face. "You!" he exclaimed, "You're the one who refused to help me kill my brother!"

"Wow. You're a genius." She replied sarcastically.

Tsunade closed her eyes, "Long-time-no-see...Anoreen. I see you've finally followed in your father's footsteps."

"What's it to you?" the young woman asked menacingly.

"Well I don't know. There's an Akatsuki member in my office if that counts for anything. More specifically the girlfriend of a man who wiped out his entire clan years ago." She taunted.

"Excuse me?" Anoreen said fiercely, "I came to give you a hand with 'Pathetic' here. I have no interest in assassinating a Hokage...at the moment."

"Oh, well in that case have at it." The older woman replied, leaning back in her chair to watch the show.

The blonde glared at her for a moment, then turned to the Uchiha. "So let me get this straight. You're not going to eat because you think that after weeks of suffering, when you finally die from starvation after you're so thin that it doesn't take a Hyuga to see right through you, that you'll go to the same place as this Sakura girl?... If she went through all that trouble to keep you alive, and even gave. the last of her strength to protect you after her death, why? Why on earth would she want you to kill yourself?!"

Sasuke opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. Then he hung his head in shame, "She wouldn't." he mumbled.

"What? I'm not sure I heard that." She taunted.

His face hardened and he looked her straight in the eye, "She wouldn't want me to."

Anoreen smiled to herself. "Hmph." She pulled an apple from her sleeve and tossed it to him. "Breakfast of champions. Eat up." With this, she turned and disappeared.

Sasuke turned the apple over in his hands suspiciously. Tsunade sat up, "She's a poison master. You'd better let me see that first. I wouldn't put it past her to have put something in it."

He nodded and walked over to her desk. She took it and began channeling chakra into the apple to examine it. "...So what's with her? That girl that just came in, what's her story?" Sasuke asked as she worked.

"Anoreen Shemutah is the older of the two remaining members of the Shemutah clan." Tsunade said, handing the apple back, "It's fine."

The young Uchiha took it and continued, "Remaining?" he asked.

"Mmhm." The Hokage asked as she turned back to her paperwork, "Her uncle, Kidon I think was his name, lost his mind and wiped out the entire clan when she was a child. Anoreen and her sister were the only ones to survive, and I think it was she who killed her uncle. Afterwards, a former Akatsuki member, Sasori of the red sand, adopted her."

"Who's her sister?" he asked curiously.

"I don't know. Probably the only one who knows anything about her is Anoreen. Rumors traveled around that a family in the Land of Fire had adopted her, but no one has reported a child with the traits of a Shemutah. Believe me, we've searched." She answered.

"Why would you search? Is it that important to find one little girl?" the teen skepticized.

Tsunade looked up seriously, "Sasuke, the Shemutah clan is an incredibly powerful clan of elite ninja. They posses the ocular kekkai-genkai known as the Ganshi, and were originally a branch of the Hyuga clan. Oh, and here's something for you, Hikashi Shemutah was not only the founder of the Shemutah clan, but he was also the brother of Madra Uchiha."

Sasuke froze; it was as if someone had slapped him in the face. "No way..."

* * *

Sakura and Kisame had quickly arrived to find Itachi lying on his back, blood seeping out of his wounds, and a glazed look in his eyes. "This is not good." Sakura said grimly, "We'd better get him back to the base. Now."

Kisame nodded. Then, he scooped his partner up carefully and followed the kunoichi back through the portal, and up to her rooms. When they go to her operating room, she instructed him to lay him on the table and leave her to her work. "You can save him right?" he asked worriedly.

"I don't know Kisame." She replied tiredly, "I'll do everything I can, but in order to survive, he has to want to live."


	14. Chapter 13: A Reason To Live

Chapter 13: A Reason To Live

Sakura sighed and plopped down on the chair beside her treatment room bed. It was midnight and she had been working since the morning before, trying to save Itachi Uchiha from the cold clutches of death. She had succeeded, but his condition was still far from stable, and she was exhausted. A tall figure quietly entered the room and stood there silently for a moment. "Is he going to be ok?" Kisame asked, indicating the still form of his bandage-covered partner.

"It's hard to tell right now." The kunoichi replied, "I've done all I can for him. We'll just have to wait until he wakes up. In the meantime, it would make him much more comfortable if you want to move him to this bed for me." She said, pointing to the one near her.

"Alright." The swordsman said, gently sliding his arms under the limp Uchiha and carrying him to the mattress. He bent over and laid him down on the soft sheets. As he pulled the top blanket up to Itachi's shoulders and stood up, he gazed sadly down at the great shinobi. Never had his ruthless partner seemed so vulnerable, and it left him feeling uneasy.

Sakura stood up, "I'm going to sleep. You should get some rest too."

Kisame nodded and followed her out of the room. He then proceeded to head slowly downstairs, but instead of going to his room, he walked outside to watch the sun rise.

* * *

Anoreen didn't return the next day, or the day after, and Sakura began to worry. "She should have been back by now." She said to herself as she looked out the kitchen window on the third day. Itachi hadn't moved since the day she had gone with Kisame to bring him back, and was slowly getting weaker, if that was even possible. Kisame had resorted to sitting in the courtyard by the pond, and had yet to come in and eat. "Where could she be? I have a feeling that she's Itachi's only hope, and if she doesn't come back soon..." she trailed off.

Suddenly the door burst open, and Anoreen stepped inside, "I'm home!" she called.

"Anoreen." Sakura said, turning to face her.

The blonde looked in the direction she had heard her name called from, "Oh, Sakura. I saw Kisame outside, where's 'Weasel'?"

Her sister looked down at the floor, "Anoreen... I did everything I could, but..."

Anoreen's eyes widened in horror, "He's not...Sakura please don't tell me he's..."

"He's not dead, but..." the pink-head trailed off, "he won't wake up."

She closed her eyes. "Take me to him." She said shakily.

"Right." Sakura replied. She led her sister up to her room and over to the bed where the Uchiha lay, motionless.

Anoreen walked slowly to the bedside of her lover. "I'm back 'Weasel'." She said as if nothing was wrong, "...You look so sweet when you're asleep, but don't you even want to wake up to see me?" she cupped a hand on the side of his face as tears began to roll down her cheeks. Then she broke down and flung herself onto his chest. "Why won't you wake up? I love you! Is that not reason enough to live?! 'Weasel'!" she cried, "Please, I'm begging you! ...Itachi say something!"

Sakura's face darkened sadly. She knew exactly how her sister felt. She had been devastated when Sasuke was presumed to be dead in the land of waves. The only difference was that it had only been a temporary state of death and he had woken up shortly after, whereas it would take a miracle to bring Itachi back from the state he was in. Or so she thought, but just as Sakura was going to pull her sister away, Itachi's eyes flickered open and he rested a shaky hand on the back of a still sobbing, Anoreen.

"'An'." He said weakly. She immediately stopped crying, "It's hard to breathe with you on me like this."

Anoreen looked up, "Itachi-kun!" she cried, wrapping her arms around his neck and almost choking him. "I thought I'd lost you!" she said as tears of relief rolled down her face.

"'An'." He said, gently nuzzling her neck. "I'm sorry."

Anoreen felt loving arms wrap around her back, and she clung even tighter to his neck. Itachi pulled her the rest of the way onto the mattress beside him, and held her close. Sakura smiled. Anoreen would take care of him; it was time for her to leave.

As she made her way downstairs, she heard the door open and close yet again. She curiously peered around the corner to see who it was. "Sakura." A familiar voice said.

"M-master Pein, Konan!" she exclaimed in surprise, "You're back!" Sakura stepped out from the stairwell to see a lower rank, Akatsuki rookie come in behind the two with a body slung over his shoulder. "Who is that?" she asked curiously.

Pein remained emotionless, "Bring him here." He instructed the rookie.

The second man came forward and dropped the unconscious body on the floor in front of her. She stiffened, "Anoreen is so not going to be happy about this."


	15. Chapter 14: Rest and Ressurection

Chapter 14: Rest and Resurrection

Sakura couldn't believe it, but sure enough there he was lying at her feet. "So someone finally detonated him." She commented, more to herself than to the others.

"Mmhm ...Where's your sister?" Pein asked.

"I'm right here." Sakura jumped. Anoreen had silently come downstairs and was now standing behind her.

"So soon?" the younger Shemutah asked sarcastically.

Her sister scowled and turned to Pein, "What do you want? I'm supposed to be fixing 'Weasel' something to eat, and I have half a mind to kill you!"

"I need you to extract any and all information about how Deidara died, and relay the details to me." The leader indicated the lifeless form on the ground.

Anoreen stiffened as she looked down at the still man that had been like a brother to her ever since he and her father had become partners. "...I take that back. Every bone in my body wants to kill you." She said, rushing forward and pulling Pein up by his shirt collar, "First you send 'Weasel' to investigate OUR mountain, and now this! What the heck are you trying to do?!"

"Anoreen put me down." He said calmly, "I didn't know it was your mountain, or I would have just asked you for information on it. As for Deidara, I had nothing to do with it. Zetsu found Tobi dead, and after looking around, found him too. All I want you to do is find out how Deidara died. Simple as that."

The angered kunoichi hesitated, then dropped Pein and bent over her brother. She removed his tattered cloak, and laid him on his back. "Sakura, you've been taught how to regenerate body parts haven't you?" she asked, surveying the damage. Sakura nodded. "Good girl." Anoreen returned, "While I'm cooking 'Weasel' something, I need you to regenerate his arms, open all respiratory passages, and make sure there aren't any blood clots. I'd prefer you take him to your operating room and I'll meet you there."

"Right." Sakura confirmed as she headed for the door to call Kisame in to help.

Anoreen turned back to Pein. "I need a donor. Preferably one you don't mind me killing." She said.

"I've got a traitor, who gave Jirya information, down in the dungeons. Will he work?" the leader replied.

"Yeah. That's fine. As soon as Sakura's done, take him up there." The kunoichi instructed, "In the meantime, I've got to fix 'Weasel' something to eat." She added, hurrying off to the kitchen.

Pein watched until she was out of sight." Konan, bring him here." He commanded.

"Yes sir." The blue-haired woman replied, before disappearing.

* * *

Anoreen knew Itachi's body couldn't handle solid food yet. "I'll just throw some fruit and vitamins in the blender." She said to herself...

A few minutes later it was ready. As Anoreen poured the contents of the blender into a glass, she stopped. Itachi needed to rest, and it would be hard to when she started to work on Deidara. She reached into her sleeve and pulled out a vial of sleeping powder. Anoreen hesitated for a moment. She hated the idea of deceiving her love.

'I have to. It's the only way he'll get any rest.' She reassured herself. She then removed the cork and poured an hour's worth into the glass with the blended fruit. Afterwards, she headed up stairs.

* * *

When Anoreen entered Sakura's workroom, she saw that a curtain had been drawn around Itachi's bed. She pulled the curtain aside, and stepped in. "What's going on?" He asked as she turned around.

"It's noting. Pein just brought Deidara in. That's all." she answered tiredly, taking a seat beside him on the bed. "Here, drink this." she added, handing him the glass.

Itachi took the glass from her hand. "Thank you." he said, hungrily gulping down the contents.

When he was finished, he gave the empty cup back to Anoreen and leaned back. The blonde set the glass on the bedside table and leaned over to kiss Itachi's forehead. When she sat up, she was smiling, "You're welcome." she replied. Anoreen felt her hand being touched, and she let it rest in the Uchiha's palm.

It was peaceful as they gazed into each other's eyes, but just as Itachi began to lean up, Sakura's voice interrupted them. "I'm done Anoreen. Care to come out and do your thing? Your little guinea pig is already up here. Hurry up!"

"Alright! I'm coming already!" she answered in the direction of her sister. When she turned back to Itachi, she saw that the drug was already beginning to affect him. "I'll be back later." She told him, running her fingers through his hair, "Try and get some rest." Anoreen watched as his eyes slid shut, then quietly got up and walked over to her sister.

* * *

"Took you long enough." Sakura commented as her sister approached.

"I had to take care of 'Weasel'." She replied.

"Yeah. I'm sure your lip-lock therapy worked wonders on him." The pink taunted.

Anoreen ignored her. "I'd like to be done with this in an hour. Where is my little victim?" she asked.

Sakura snapped her fingers, and a struggling rookie was led into the room. Konan stopped and handed the end of the chain to the younger kunoichi. "Thank you Konan." She said, yanking the traitor forward for Anoreen to see. "This good enough for you?" she asked.

"He'll do." The older Shemutah replied as she began forming complex hand signs, "Let him go."

"What?!" Sakura asked incredulously.

"He won't get far." Anoreen reassured her, finishing the sequence of hand signs.

"Ok..." Sakura said uncertainly as she released the traitor and stepped back. He started to move, but just as her sister had said, he didn't get far.

Anoreen quickly emitted chakra strings and attached them to her victim's body. "Now for the hard part." She said as she continued forming even more complex hand signs. A few moments later, she was done. "Cursed Puppet-master Technique, Forced Life Transferal!" the blonde spoke darkly.

Sakura couldn't believe her eyes, as the traitor walked, almost robotically, over to Deidara's still form. Then he stretched his hands out to rest on the deceased blonde's chest, and began feeding something that wasn't quite chakra into the body. "What is that?" she asked curiously.

"It's his life energy." Her sister replied as she concentrated on controlling her unwilling lab rat.

"Life force?" the younger echoed.

"You know when Gaara was dead," Anoreen explained elementarily, "and then Chiyo did something and he wasn't dead anymore."

"Yeah ...and Chiyo died afterwards." Sakura followed.

"That's basically what I'm doing, but I don't die." She finished.

"So you're bringing Deidara back to life." The pink stated.

"Mmhm." Her sister confirmed.

"...Anoreen, won't Pein want him to have a partner? I mean, he wouldn't be much use without one. Would he?" Sakura asked.

"So says the 'Pein Philosophy'." The older agreed half-heartedly.

"Tobi's dead though... You don't think he'd ...when he finds out what he wants... You don't think he'd kill him again do you?" she faltered.

Anoreen didn't answer for a while. "...I've thought about it for a while now, and I think I finally understand what daddy was saying." She looked her sister in the eye, "I think now is the time he meant when he said to come find him. Without him, Deidara will die again."

"...When are you leaving?" Sakura asked gravely.

"Just as soon as I'm done here." She replied, finishing the jutsu and releasing the corpse. The kunoichi stepped forward and began examining the now unconscious body. "Heartbeat and breathing are regulated." She said to herself, "Now let's see what happened..." Anoreen gently placed her hands on either side of his head and closed her eyes.

After a few minutes she opened her eyes and sighed heavily. "I could have guessed that much." She mumbled, taking a strange sphere out of her sleeve. She fed a small amount of chakra into the sphere's glassy surface and handed it to Sakura. "This should tell Pein what he wants to know." She instructed, "I'll be back as soon as I can. Whatever you do, don't let Pein kill him." Anoreen jerked her head in Deidara's direction.

Sakura nodded. "Be careful." She said, handing her sister's cloak to her.

There was a noise behind them, followed by a soft moan. Anoreen turned around and smiled. "Welcome back, Deidara!"

He sat up and blinked twice. "You do realize you just saved me from an eternal hell with Tobi." He commented weakly.

She laughed, "I should have know those would be the first words out of your mouth."


	16. Chapter 15: Word is Law

Chapter 15: Word Is Law

"Pein stop it!" Sakura cried desperately, stepping in front of him, "Anoreen will come back!"

"I've waited a week. I will not wait any longer. Step aside Sakura." Her replied firmly. Sakura didn't move. "Sakura, move!" he commanded.

The determined kunoichi stretched her arms out protectively. "No! I promised my sister I wouldn't let you kill him! I don't go back on my word and neither does she!"

"Do not disobey me!" Pein yelled in return, "He is useless to me! Now STEP ASIDE!!"

"NO!" the pink repeated fiercely.

"Sakura..." A voice said from behind, "It's ok."

"No Deidara, it's not ok. None of this is your fault, and you shouldn't have to suffer for it!" she replied getting her emotions under control, "I can tell you don't want to die, so stop acting like you don't care."

The blonde lowered his head. She was right. He didn't want to die again, but he also knew he was currently too weak to be of any use.

Pein sighed, "...Alright. I'll wait one more day, but if she's not back, that's it."

* * *

"Hey." A voice called.

Anoreen rolled her eyes and kept walking. She'd been searching for her father for over a week now, and had come up empty handed. The only thing she'd gotten so far were a couple hundred low-live guys hitting on her. This one was more than likely on the same mission.

"I'm talking to you!" he growled, "...Pay attention!"

She lazily sidestepped to avoid a kunai and continued on. 'So this one's a ninja...' the blonde thought with amusement as the teen suddenly appeared in front of her. "Well, well." She said as she examined her prey, "Someone doesn't like to be ignored." Anoreen narrowed her eyes. He was a sand ninja, a puppet master to be exact. 'This must be the brat daddy told me about... Kankuro.'

"You got that right." He said firmly. Anoreen smirked and waited for him to go on. "I know who you are, and I came to ask you to train me." He continued

'So that's what he wants.' She thought darkly, 'He may know who I am, but he obviously doesn't know where my allegiance lies. hmph This is going to be fun.' Anoreen's face turned serious "What makes you think I would train you?" she asked harshly.

"Why wouldn't you?" he replied, "Your family's dead, and so is Sasori."

"Don't question my authority! I'm not going to train you! Now beat it before I decided to kill you!" the blonde snarled as she activated her ganshi.

Kankuro stepped back. He knew he'd hit a sensitive subject, and wasn't in the mood to get clobbered. "Look... I'm not looking for a fight. I just need you to train me, that's all."

"What part or NO don't you get?!" Anoreen yelled, stepping forward threateningly.

"The part where it does you any harm to train me!" the teen answered.

"Why you!" she growled; but just as she was about to charge, she noticed a faint red glow. The blonde looked down to see the silver charm on her choker necklace illuminate itself.

"You know," said a familiar voice casually, "if you value your live, you should probably listen to my daughter when she tells you to get lost."

Anoreen closed her eyes and smirked, "Hi daddy. I've been looking for you."

"I figured it was about time you did." Sasori replied as he stepped out of the shadows of a nearby alley.

Kankuro backed up, "No way..."

* * *

"I won't do it!" Sakura cried.

"Why not princess?" Pein replied teasingly, "You didn't promise Anoreen that _you_ wouldn't kill him did you?"

"No, but that still doesn't make it right!" she answered.

"I've waited another day like we agreed to, and she's not back. I have things that need to be done. I can't wait forever, now hurry up and finish this!" he commanded.

"No!" the pink argued, "She'll come back!"

"Sakura." Deidara cut in. He was no longer struggling against the stout ropes that bound him to the dungeon's metal post. "It's ok. I'm useless anyway. ...Just do it quickly." He said, defeated.

"Deidara..." she replied sadly.

"There you have it." Pein commented lightly as he held out a katan to Sakura. She reluctantly took it, and he stepped back to watch.

'This shouldn't be happening.' She told herself as she stepped forward. Her feet felt as if they were solid lead, and every step became a heavy burden to bear. 'Where are you Anoreen? Why didn't you come back?' she silently pleaded, 'You've got to stop this!' her feet stopped moving, and Sakura found herself raising the blade over Deidara's head. She saw his eyes close in painful anticipation, and felt herself begin to swing. 'I'm so sorry Deidara. I wish I didn't have to do this.' She thought as her eyes welled up with tears.

'This is it.' Deidara told himself, 'It's over.' He bowed his head in submission and waited for the impact.

...but it never came.

Suddenly, there was a gust of wind and Sakura was blown back. She hit the wall and the katan flew out of her hand and skidded across the floor. As the mist cleared, two figures, standing back-to-back, became visible. "Sorry I'm late Sakura. You have no idea the trouble I had finding him." Her sister's voice echoed through the dim chamber.

"Finding who?" Pein interrupted, " This had better be good young lady."

"Pein." A second voice barked, "I had hoped you would know by now that my daughter's word is law, but it seems you're too much of a fool to realize it!"

'I know that voice!' Deidara's mind raced.

"Anoreen, get to work." The man instructed.

"Yes father." the young kunoichi replied as she stepped forwards and knelt down in front of the blonde. "You can open your eyes now, 'Dei', you're not going to die." She said softly.

Deidara cautiously opened his eye and looked up into Anoreen's beautiful emerald ones. "You came." He replied gratefully.

"Of course I did! I told you I would didn't I!" she answered, leaning over to cut through his bonds.

As she did, he put his head over her shoulder to see who she had brought with her. The light was dim, but he could still make out the figure of a man with red hair. 'Sasori...' the blonde thought in disbelief.

Anoreen finished cutting and pulled the remaining rope out of the way. Deidara tried to stand, but fell back. "Come on." The Shemutah said, slinging his arm around her neck and pulling him up. She looked around only to find that her father and Pein had disappeared. "Where'd they go?" she wondered out loud.

"To Pein's office." Sakura said from the base of the wall. She hadn't moved an inch from where she had been blown by Anoreen's timely arrival.

"You ok?" her sister asked, turning her head in Sakura's direction.

"Yeah I'm fine. All I did was get slammed into a rock wall. What could possibly be wrong?" she replied sarcastically.

"Sorry." Anoreen said, as a clone appeared to help her sister to her feet.

* * *

The group had just made it up the stairs, when Sasori appeared in front of them. "Pein wants to see you two about a mission." He informed the kunoichi, "I'll take care of Deidara."

The two sisters nodded and, after handing the blonde off to his partner, headed up to Pein's office.

* * *

A few minutes later, Anoreen and Sakura knocked on the leader's door. "Come in." he called from the other side.

They entered quietly and sat down in the chairs in front of his desk. "So what's this mission about?" the older accused. Pein was cutting into her time now, and she wasn't too thrilled about it.

"Ah yes." Pein said, turning his chair around to face his subordinates, "It's a very important mission that requires the skills of a kunoichi. It's a mission that will take at least six months to complete."

"Six months?! You've got to be kidding!" Sakura burst out.

"No, this is actually very serious." He replied calmly as he pulled a file from his desk. "Here are the details. You leave two days from now."


	17. Chapter 16: Leave The Pieces

Chapter 16: Leave The Pieces

"Come on Anoreen! If you want to say goodbye to everyone you'd better hurry up!" Sakura said, poking her head into her older sister's room.

"I'd rather not." the blonde replied from her place on the bed. She had had her things packed and ready an hour ago, but was still staring off into space with her knees pulled up under her chin.

"Why? What's wrong?" the pink asked worriedly. It wasn't like her sister to be like this.

Anoreen sighed. "It's nothing." she said. But it was far from nothing as she thought back to two days ago, when Pein had called her back into his office.

* * *

"Anoreen, I need to talk to you." Pein said seriously.

"About what?" she asked.

"Your mission... If an Akatsuki member were to visit you two at any time during it, your cover would be blown immediately." He answered gravely.

"Obviously. We're supposed to infiltrate this village and take out Hidan. Kind of hard to do if he finds out we're associated with you." The blonde agreed.

"My point exactly." He replied.

"Well I'm not going to invite everybody over for a party if that's what you're thinking." She said.

"I know you wouldn't do anything foolish like that, but..." he trailed off.

"But what?" Anoreen asked. She didn't like where this was going.

"Love does strange things to men, Anoreen. Makes them stupid." Pein alluded.

"What are you saying?" the blonde accused, "If 'Weasel' was stupid I wouldn't be with him!"

"Maybe it would have been better if he was." The leader said to himself.

"What was that?!" she snarled.

"Look… all I'm saying is that he may not think of sneaking out to see you now, but give him a few months without any form of communication with you and he'll get desperate pretty quickly." He said, "I need you to use whatever means necessary to keep him from doing so... Do I make myself clear?"

Anoreen couldn't answer right away . She knew what she had to do, and it broke her heart just thinking about it. "...Yes sir." She finally replied soberly.

* * *

"Anoreen? Hello, anybody in there?" Sakura's voice cut through her inner thoughts.

She blinked and looked up at her younger sister, "What?"

"Well you kina zoned out there for a minute. Are you sure you're ok?" the pink asked worriedly.

"Yeah. Just tired I guess." Anoreen waved her off.

"Sure." Her sister mumbled. Yet again, Anoreen was hiding something. "Let's get going." She added as she headed for the door that led downstairs.

The blonde buried her head between her knees for a moment, then got up and followed Sakura to the door. "I'm not hungry right now. Let's leave now and just stop for lunch on the way." She said as they headed downstairs.

"Fine by me." The pink replied.

When they reached the bottom of the steps, Pein was waiting for them. "What the hell do you want?" Anoreen spat, suddenly becoming annoyed by his presence.

"I came down to make sure you do what I asked you to take care of." He replied coolly. She glared at him and kept walking.

"Take care of what?" Sakura asked, but before she could get an answer, Itachi had come out of nowhere and hugged her sister from behind.

"Good morning 'An'! You weren't going to leave without saying goodbye were you?" he questioned seductively, taking the chance to nuzzle her neck.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Anoreen replied flatly.

"Then why did you come down so late?" the Uchiha asked in an insulted tone as he pressed his lips to the nape of her neck and exhaled through his nose.

Sakura rolled her eyes and headed for the door. "I'm going on ahead. Just catch up with me later." She called before closing the door firmly behind her.

Anoreen waited until her sister was gone. "I had to pack." She lied.

"Since when?" he questioned playfully.

She sighed, "Itachi I'm really not in the mood."

"What happened to 'Weasel'?" the black-haired shinobi inquired.

"Just let go of me!" the blonde yelled.

She tried to shrug him off, but he grabbed her arms and turned her around to face him. "What's with you today?" Itachi asked worriedly, "Was it something I did?"

Anoreen shook her head and looked down, "It's just not going to work."

"What do you mean?" he said, letting go of her arms.

"We're just too different." She replied almost sadly. The blonde hesitated for a moment, then leaned up to kiss him for the last time.

After a few seconds, Itachi broke away. "You'd better get going." He commented, "Sakura will start assuming things if you don't catch up with her soon."

"…Right." Anoreen agreed as she turned to leave. She opened the door and stopped. "Goodbye Itachi." She said.

He watched as the beautiful kunoichi he'd loved for so long walked out and closed the door behind her. Now he was sure of it; this was the end of their time together.

* * *

A/N:

_This is the end of the new beginning_

_Where the plot is far from thinning_

_And we press beyond the dreams of not so long ago_

_to where old ties of friendship are turned to woe_

_soon, the faint at heart may come to dread_

'_The Road Ahead'._

Book 2: The Road Ahead

–**Coming August 2008**

'_let the drama begin'_


End file.
